Vicar, 55, raked in £30,000 by conducting 250 sham marriages which helped illegal immigrants stay in the country

A parish vicar who conducted hundreds of sham marriages to help illegal immigrants stay in Britain faces up to 14 years in jail.

The Rev Brian Shipsides charged £140 a time for the bogus ceremonies which were so popular couples queued up outside his church.

The racket earned the 55-year-old churchman at least £30,000 in undeclared income.

Facing jail: Rev Brian Shipsides and
Amudalat Ladipo were both involved in a bogus marriage scam that helped
illegal immigrants stay in the country

Officials suspect at least 200 non-Europeans, mostly Nigerians, were married off to Portuguese and Dutch nationals, some of whom flew in just for the services at All Saints Church, in Forest Gate, East London.

The spouses hoped to use the marriage to boost their chances of obtaining rights to benefits, residence and work from the Home Office.

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But the conspiracy came unstuck after another vicar in the same inner-city parish tipped off police over her suspicions about a Nigerian groom.

Investigators examined marriage registers dating back to 1971 and discovered a massive spike in wedding services.

In the two years and seven months prior to the start of the scam there were only 15 weddings – compared with 250 when the fraud was running.

Officials suspect the lucrative sideline would have continued ‘at a rate of knots’ had it not been smashed by a police raid in July 2010.

Bogus ceremonies: Rev Shipsides held the weddings at the All Saints Church in Forest Gate, London, charging couples £140

It is the latest example of foreign nationals undertaking sham marriages to try to sidestep immigration controls.

European brides and grooms have pocketed thousands of pounds after agreeing to marry people they barely know in bogus ceremonies.

The Rev Shipsides, who served the East London parish for 13 years, is a rare example of a clergyman who has admitted his complicity in the growing racket.

He was earning £20,000 for his post at All Saints Church, where he lived in the vicarage with a male friend and their dog Stanley. He has been suspended and could be removed from office after a Church of England disciplinary hearing.

His conviction can be revealed after his curate, the Rev Elwon John, 54, was cleared of any involvement in the plot at Inner London Crown Court yesterday. The Rev John’s barrister told the jury he had no knowledge of the scam.

Illegal immigrant Amudalat Ladipo, 31, who acted as a fixer, was convicted of conspiracy to facilitate breaches of immigration laws.

The Nigerian was branded a ‘prolific and resourceful liar’ in court and investigators suspect she organised similar marriages at other churches.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police and UK Border Agency smashed the two-and-a-half-year racket when they caught the Rev Shipsides waiting to wed a Nigerian to a bogus Swedish bride, complete with white wedding dress. The Nigerian was later jailed for 15 months. As Ladipo was arrested, couples were queueing up for their bogus ceremonies and she dumped an envelope stuffed with bogus identity documents in a bush.

Prosecutor David Walbank said: ‘Most of the so-called couples who participated in these marriage ceremonies were not actually couples at all. Their ultimate purpose was to obtain enhanced rights to enter and live in the United Kingdom.’

The Rev Shipsides is no stranger to publicity and appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for officiating at the wedding of the world’s tallest married couple. He admitted conspiracy to facilitate breaches of immigration laws before the month-long trial of his curate, and will be sentenced next month.

Simon Prankard, of the UK Border Agency, said: 'This was a long and complex inquiry into what was an organised and sophisticated attempt to cheat the UK’s immigration laws.

'It was also an unusual investigation, involving a church minister, Brian Shipsides, who was prepared to abuse his position and the trust placed in him by the Church and his community.

'I hope this case sends out a message that we will not tolerate abuse of our immigration system.

'Those who facilitate sham marriages are breaking the law and will be held accountable for their actions – no matter who they are.'